Chapter Text
Mike Wheeler was struggling with school. saving the world from an apocalypse is hard work, and algebra homework kind of takes a back seat. so his mom suggested mike get a tutor to help with all his “schooling deficiencies” as she put it.
Mike fought against it at first, but he eventually found out Harvey was a great guy! He never talked down to Mike and always waited to move on to the next subject until after he could consistently do it on his own.
Harvey was 19, ginger, and wore braces. He was pleasant to Mike's mother, and surprisingly, Mike's father didn’t hate him. Harvey also volunteered at the local animal shelter, and let Mike and his friends into the back to pet the animals every once in a while, or to take them on walks. It was a very nice break from the supernatural.
At some point, Mike started talking to Harvey about some of the ideas he had for Dungeons and Dragons, and he seemed genuinely interested in what Mike had to say. So when Harvey suggested Mike go looking for ideas in a spooky old house, he didn’t bat an eye.
“It’s this crazy spot me and my friends would go to on Halloween to spook ourselves. It was a real riot. If you’re looking for horror, that’s the place to be!” Harvey offered with a smile.
“I’ll check it out.” Mike smiled back, “where is it at?”
“Oh, I can show you if you’d be agreeable! It’s right off of fourth street.”
“Yeah, let’s go!” Mike’s excitement got a hold of him as he stood up. “Algebra can wait.” Mike smiled and offered his hand to Harvey, who took it.
“Sure thing, pal. Let me just pick up my textbooks, I have a feeling we’re gonna be exploring for a while.”
While Harvey picked up his books, Mike picked up his radio to let The Party know where he was going, but heard only static. Mike felt a small chill go up his neck. His dad probably just turned on the air conditioning. Again.
“Oh don’t mind them, they’re probably just busy,” Harvey supplied, and Mike, in his excitement, decided that was enough.
This had been something that was happening more frequently since Mike began his tutoring. Most of the party enjoyed Harvey’s company, but Will always seemed jumpy and anxious around him. He had pulled Mike aside once and asked if there was anything weird about Harvey, if he was off in some way.
“I feel so nervous around him, it’s weird. I don’t like the way he smiles.” Mike was confused when Will told him this, Harvey was a cool guy as far as Mike could tell.
“Maybe you just got off on the wrong foot? I’d normally agree with you, but he is a nice person.” Mike shifted from one foot to the other. “And I can’t just change tutors, he’s actually helping me.”
Will pressed his lips into a thin line before sighing. “I guess. Just- be careful ok? I don’t want you getting hurt.” Will offered a smile and Mike more than softened. He absolutely adored Will’s smile.
“No need to worry about me, your loyal Paladin can handle himself in the face of danger!” Mike put on his most smug smile and held his arms out for a hug. Will laughed and obliged.
Mike loved sharing hugs with Will, he felt so safe and calm when he had physical contact with him.
Before he knew it, Mike and Harvey arrived at the old house. Its Victorian style was breathtaking to Mike, and he was surprised he’d never been there before. The windows were boarded up, and the house smelled like old wood and mildew.
Mike shook off any remaining thoughts about Will and looked to Harvey to see what he was doing. Harvey didn’t hesitate to go up to the door and open it, it swung widely and creaked like it hadn’t been opened in years.
While he’d never admit it, Mike was growing nervous, the house was old, very old. The crisp October wind flitted along, blowing up his spine to the back of his neck, settling heavily at the base of his skull.
“Hey now, don’t be a scaredy cat! Come on in!” Harvey called cheerily from the foyer of the house, startling Mike a bit. He took a few steps up to the front door, feeling the creaking wood under his shoes.
“It’s just a house.” Mike breathed, mostly to himself. He steeled his nerves and stepped through the door. Each step he took made a creak, and the air was full of dust particles shining in through the cracks in the windows. It was darker than Mike expected, but light enough to not need a flashlight.
“The view of Hawkins is great from the attic, c’mon!” Harvey said, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet. Mike thought he seemed a bit excited, but didn’t argue. “I’ll even race you!”
Mike took a deep breath to calm his beating heart, coughing a bit on the dusty air. It smelled like mothballs, but there was something underneath it, something sour. Mike tried to ignore the scrunching of his nose as he smiled and walked to the wide stairwell.
The stairs were made of dark wood and had a red carpet runner going down them, it was raggedy after so many years of neglect, fraying at the edges. There were fancy railings going up both sides of the steps as well, and they looked smooth, but as Mike slid his hand across the wooden surface he pricked his finger on a splinter.
“Gah!” Mike pulled his hand back and immediately stuck it in his mouth to soothe the pain, tasting a bit of blood. Harvey laughed, and Mike gave him his best ‘mad but not really’ glare.
Harvey clapped Mike on the back and started up the stairs, floors creaking all the way up. Mike followed quickly, each step sounded as though they might break under his weight. They ran up one flight, then two, then they finally arrived at the third floor.
The attic was concealed by a heavy oak door, which squealed as Harvey flung it open with no hesitation. The attic was brimming with spiderwebs and it was even dustier. The sour smell had gotten stronger the higher in the house they went, but this room absolutely reeked. Mike had to stop himself from pulling back as he entered the room, working to keep his face straight in the presence of his upperclassman.
“Welcome to the coolest place in Hawkins!” Harvey exclaimed, clearly proud of himself. He gestured to the large circular window overlooking Hawkins. The red brick buildings peeked through the autumn leaves, and the setting sun was bathing the town in golden light. The whole thing made Hawkins look much more interesting than it actually was.
Mike staunchly disagreed with Harvey, the coolest place in Hawkins was right by Will’s side, wherever he was. Mike thought Will would like to see Hawkins from above like this. To see Will covered in beautiful golden light would be a treat like none other.
Instead, Mike simply said “cool.”
“Cool.” Harvey replied back, a wave of calm coming into his voice. “Now Mike. You’re gonna have to forgive me.”
Mike whipped around to see Harvey locking the old wooden door, and the panic that had been worming its way into his stomach had bubbled over. “What?” Mike blinked a few times, his voice shaking. “Harvey, this is a joke right? Why are you locking the door?”
“Hey, no need to worry, it only hurts for a bit.” Harvey’s voice changed to something sinister and cruel. He began to dissolve at the edges, blurring into a cloudy black smoke. Mike wanted to run, to defend himself, something, but his knees were made of jelly, and his limbs refused to work for him.
Anxiety filled Mike’s body, his stomach clenching and his lungs filling with thick, heavy air. Air which was now laced with thick, sour smoke. “H-H-Harvey- this- this is a joke right? Harvey?”
“You’ll be a great vessel. And once Will becomes subservient again, you won’t be of any use to me anymore.” Harvey was mostly gone, but it didn’t sound like him anymore. His voice was dark, full of malintent.
The smoke had filled Mike's field of vision, and no matter how much Mike tried to struggle, he couldn’t help but breathe it in. Mike was choking, panicking, and couldn’t see. His finger where he got the splinter throbbed.
Mike was beginning to dip in and out of consciousness, falling hard to his knees, erupting with pain. He felt his blood leaking through his jeans, warm, uncomfortable, and screaming with pain.
That was enough to break his hold from the waking world, and as the smoke cleared, Harvey was no longer there, Mike was alone. Alone and terrified. And as sleep took its hold, Mike couldn’t help but think that he should’ve listened to Will.